Open peer review models with public participation are bringing an active role to the readers by allowing then to comment on manuscripts and interact with authors and reviewers. In addition, these open peer review models are broadening the audience of academic journals by introducing new types of readers such as people without scientific training. This proposal investigates the beginning of public commenting in peer reviewed academic journals, why it started to be implemented and its purpose, and arguments against and in favor of the engagement of readers, also called non-selected reviewers, in the peer review process. To investigate these questions, we had data from an integrative review conducted in 2022 to identify which peers, models, and concepts are related to peer review models with public participation. The results show that public commenting was implemented for the first time in 1959 and started to grow in the 1990s with the open science movement. Its purpose is to increase the number of reviewers and reduce bias in the process of selection of reviewers. On the one hand, public commenting may help to promote the quality of the manuscript, transparency, and inclusion in the peer review process. On the other hand, some studies are questioning the impact on career researcher, the incentives to comment, and the qualifications of public reviewers. Public commenting can help to improve the quality of the manuscripts, but more studies are required to understand what public commenting is adding to peer review process in terms of expertise.